Sep 08
Chris D Jr. Comments: If subtle clues such as the title of the book and the gun held by the bubble-helmeted, caped character on the front cover weren’t enough, the designer has managed to sneak in an oh-so-subtle name tag as a hint to the vigilant observer that the character on the front is probably ‘Gunner Cade’. Probably…
Published 1966
September 8th, 2011 at 9:10 am
See? You CAN make a book cover on a budget of five quids.
September 8th, 2011 at 9:13 am
“Greetings, people of 1966! I am Gunner Cade… and I have come from the future to warn you about the impending doom that will befall mankind… if you succumb to the tyranny of punchcards!”
September 8th, 2011 at 9:14 am
So long as you don’t take that tag from round his neck, and keep the receipt, you can always take him back to ‘Caped-Helmetted-Assassins-R-Us’.
September 8th, 2011 at 9:52 am
The cape is a nice touch, but I’d like to see him conduct a proper conversation in that. It’s tight.
September 8th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I quite like that one. More out of loyalty to Penguin’s awesome 1960s SF covers than anything else. The gun is shite but the bubble head and the cape (and the label) make for a genuine weirdness. Which is good.
September 8th, 2011 at 10:08 am
I like this cover a lot. Penguin did make some fantastic ones!
I’m also pretty sure that the top of that gun is a modified solder sucker:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Solder_sucker.jpg
September 8th, 2011 at 11:12 am
Ooooh @SI #6. Good Show Sir just taught me something. (About a subject other than typography, artistic anatomy and graphic design, that is.)
September 8th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
His head looks like it might explode from how tiny his collar and helmet are. Reminds me of those damn ‘Goombas’ from the horrible Mario Brothers cult film from childhood ::face palm::
September 8th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Cold War Stig in not quite British racing green.
September 8th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
@Herm If I knew something more about punch cards I might be able to tell if the holes meant something. But they’re probably all there for show!
Good Show Sir! Teaching the world!
Remember kids, Maths saves lives!
September 8th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Wow.
Somebody got extra use out of his Halloween costume that year.
September 8th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Lookis like his head WAS under the cape, but got suddenly sucked into the helmet. Get that guy out of there before he stops breathing!
September 8th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Shouldn’t this have some sort of “zombie” category? I think were talking about a posthumous Gunner Cade here.
September 8th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Is it just me or does the name ‘Cade’ seem too cool to be applied to this fellow?
September 8th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
The sequels detail the lives of his whimsically named family members Arr, Cass, and Blau.
Or not.
September 8th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Looks a bit like the eighth man of Blake’s 7 …a bit understated on the homoeroticism theme though….
September 10th, 2011 at 5:50 am
That poor guy looks like he’s been ordered to RELEASE THE CAUSTIC VAPORS once too often. “Seriously, boss, I was issued a handgun when you hired me. Can’t I just shoot the intruders?”
March 25th, 2012 at 3:42 am
The story is actually from 1952, when it was serialized in “Astounding Science Fiction.”
“Cyril Judd” is the pseudonym of Cyril Kornbluth and Judith Merril.
I only ever read the middle third of the book (lacking parts 1 and 3 of the serial). It was a weird swashbuckling story set in a distant future of 1940s noir clichés.
March 25th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
The costume design looks like an early prototype for this:
http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/2012/02/flow-my-tears-the-policeman-said/comment-page-1/#comment-154787
January 15th, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Looks like a costume from a Wes Anderson film.
July 12th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
Noooo! Don’t shoot Mr. Penguin!
August 25th, 2015 at 5:02 am
I first thought that the nametag was actually the price sticker.
Seriously though, is he able to breathe in that thing?
October 11th, 2015 at 2:38 am
And remember, whatever you do:
DON’T.
This Gunner Cade is brought to you by the wise burghers of Scarfolk Council.
December 10th, 2015 at 2:57 pm
Tag Wizard: I think we need the ‘low budget’ tag deployed here.